She nodded then continued to watch the encampment below.
A tent. Evidence of a small campfire.
Tessa wriggled in her hold and whined. Her new “tell” when she smelled the one thing she feared. Jamie tried to quiet her, but the dog danced, tugging away.
Worried, the dog would give away their positions, Jamie hiked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate to Sky and the deputy that she’d have to move back.
Sky’s gaze was on the dog, and his brows lowered. When he caught her gaze, she nodded, letting him know something hinky was below. That wasn’t just any hiker below them. Either Nazari or his accomplices were in play.
Gripping Tessa’s lead, she dragged her from the edge and headed back the way they’d come, toward the road and the team that would arrive soon to help them surround the campsite.
Just as she left the tree line, near the last rise leading to the track, Tessa ran to the end of her lead and issued a low growl, fur rising in a angry ridge down the center of her back.
Jamie heard the snap of a twig and let go of the lead.
Tessa lunged toward the right, snarling. A shot rang out, and she yelped and dropped to the ground. Jamie watched with horror as two men, one of them matching Nazari’s mug shot, stepped from behind the trees, rifles raised.
Sky heard the distant shot and cursed. Without sparing a glance toward the deputies, he pushed up from the ground and raced through the forest, heading in the direction the sound had come.
He raised his walkie and clicked the button on the side. “Shots fired. Jamie’s heading to the road. Nazari must have circled behind us. She’s in trouble!”
“On our way. Five minutes out,” came Hank’s angry voice.
Five minutes might be too damn long. Sky ran like the wind, jumping fallen trees, bursting through brush, his rifle in his hand, every awful scenario running through his mind. Behind him he heard the deputies crashing through the underbrush, but he couldn’t wait. Jamie needed him.
Jamie knelt on both knees, her fingers laced behind her head. Nazari’s man had already confiscated her Glock after delivering an unnecessary kick to her abdomen. She was unarmed, and Tessa’s low whines sounded in the distance.
“Get up,” Nazari said, and shrugged his large knapsack off his shoulders. He gripped the straps and tossed it at her feet. “Make yourself useful and carry this. We have a way to go.”
A reprieve, when she’d expected a bullet to the head. She reached for the bag, feeling surreptitiously for the contents before sliding her arms into the straps. Square boxes. Cardboard. Heavy. The C-4, no doubt. They’d got what they’d come for. Now, she’d only live as long as they needed her—as a pack mule or a hostage. She pushed up to stand and forced her expression into a neutral mask, determined to give Sky and all the officers around them time to get to her.
Today, she wouldn’t be a hero. She’d survive. Sky owed her dinner. With that wistful thought, she followed the point of Nazari’s weapon and trudged behind the other man, Nazari taking up the rear of their small column. As they moved away at a brisk pace, she heard Tessa’s mournful whines, and pain twisted in her chest.
They headed back into the trees, heading north. From above, she heard the whomp-whomp of a helicopter approaching. Soon, there would be eyes on them. Nazari didn’t stand a chance of escaping, but he might decide to do some damage along the way. As she walked, she mulled over every possibility, trying to figure out a way she could help herself. But the two men with her were wary, their gazes constantly searching the area around them and going to the sky.
Nazari’s man didn’t look like he was from around here, so likely he wasn’t from the survivalist group Nazari had seduced into wreaking havoc in the area, pretending to espouse their militant nationalism. No, he was straight-up ISIS, and, very likely, so was his friend. With his olive complexion and narrow, black beard that skirted his chin, the other man looked like a college student, barely in his twenties. He was slightly built, no taller than she. Jamie thought she could take him. Nazari was another problem altogether. Tall, leanly muscled, his dark tan features could have been mistaken for Hispanic, which the townsfolk around Eagle Rock had. He’d been a successful realtor, so he was smart.
Jump out of the rabbit hole, she sternly told herself. She concentrated on the corner of a box digging into her spine, the silence of the birds around them. She couldn’t be distracted by her own thoughts. Needed to stay in the now. Look for her chance.
They descended into a gully and stayed there, shielded from above by overhanging tree branches and deep shadow.
“Not far now,” Nazari called softly to his companion.
They began to climb the opposite side of the gully. Her feet slid in dew-slick leaves. She went down on her knees and clutched at a branch to pull herself back up. The barrel of a rifle dug into her shoulder.
“Keep moving,” Nazari said, his voice low and deadly even.
So, clutching vines and rocks, she continued upward. Sky couldn’t be far. Had to have heard the shot. The teams were closing in. She just had to stay alive for the next little while.
Sky broke into the clearing below the rutted dirt road. Already, there were men, standing around a figure on the ground. His heart dove toward his toes, and his breaths, which he’d kept even through his run, came in ragged pants. No, no, no...
But as he drew near, he spotted black and gold fur, and realized it was Tessa on the ground. She gave a little yelp as he shouldered his way into the circle and went down on one knee. A large man with a long blond braid was taping up a wound in her flank. Blood drenched her fur, but her eyes were alert, and she was already struggling to get to her feet.
The tall man wore a navy tee with a Montana Bounty Hunters logo.
“You a friend of Jamie’s,” Sky said.
The other man gave a terse nod. “I’m Reaper. They can’t be far, but we need Tessa.” The man helped Tessa to her paws.
The dog stepped forward and whined, then lifting her back right leg, she took off in three-legged hop, heading toward the trees. Heading north.
The roar of engines sounded behind them. Sky glanced back and gave Hank a wave as he jumped from the cab of a pickup and ran toward them, but Sky wasn’t waiting to catch him up on what was going down. He followed the dog.
Although reduced to three functioning legs, the dog moved swiftly, her nose to the ground, following a straight path. Now and then, Sky noted broken vines and crushed underbrush. They were on the right trail.
All around him, the teams fanned out, moving quietly, gazes panning the surroundings.
Sky stayed on Tessa’s ass, trusting she’d find her human friend.
When they reached a gully, Sky picked up the dog and carried her in his arms while he slid on his feet, sideways to the bottom. There, he set her down again, and she took off like a shot, her nose to the trail.
In the distance, he saw evidence of where they left the gully, of someone sliding in the dirt, more broken underbrush and vines. Again, he picked up the dog and made the climb, going to his knees a time or two, but making it to the top.
Ahead, he heard hushed conversation and raised his fist to halt those behind and around him. “Tessa,” he whispered.
The dog slowed and glanced backward.
Searching for the word Jamie had used, he said, “Sitz!”
She was slow to obey, and she didn’t sit—likely because her haunches hurt—but she lay on the dirt, her head resting on her paws.
He went to a knee beside her and scratched her ears. “You stay, buddy. You did good, girl.” Then he pushed up and followed the broken trail through the forest, his tread light, his heart pounding hard against his chest.
Ahead, he caught a glimpse of colors that didn’t blend into the underbrush—blue, blonde, skin tones... He slowed and went to his belly, crawling forward to get nearer.
Then he saw another smaller clearing. Two men stood beside a large mound covered in military camouflage netting. The older man was throwing back the netting
to reveal two ATVs. The younger stood over a kneeling Jamie, his rifle touching the back of her head. She faced Sky’s position. A knapsack sat beside her on the ground.
About to move closer, he heard rustling beside him and glanced over his shoulder. The man with the braid was inching toward his position, his pistol in one hand, a look of fierce concentration on his face. And by the quiet, efficient way the man moved, he was ex-military as well.
Sky quickly glance around him, spotted Hank and the sheriff moving closer. No doubt, the trio in the clearing was surrounded. He dragged his rifle forward and sighted down the barrel.
Jamie’s expression was fierce, her gaze right on him. She’d spotted him. Slowly, she blinked—a signal to let him know she was ready. Then she inched her hand toward the knapsack.
The blond beside him tossed a pinecone into the clearing.
The rifle held against her skull shifted.
Jamie clutched the bag and swung, twisting to aim it at the younger man’s body.
Sky took a breath and pulled the trigger.
The man dropped, blood blossoming from a hole in his right shoulder. Jamie dove toward the ground and covered her head.
Nazari turned and raised his rifle. From somewhere in the woods, another shot rang out, and Nazari pitched face-first into the dirt.
Sky pushed up from the ground and raced toward Jamie, who was already rising. He dove for her, landing on his knees and scooped her into his arms to cradle her against his chest.
She hugged him, arms snaking around his torso, her body quivering against his. “Took you long enough,” she muttered.
He gave one short gust of laughter and buried his face against her hair. She was safe.
A whine sounded beside them, and Jamie raised her head.
Tessa snuggled into her side, licking her face, her tail wagging hard.
Jamie sobbed and pushed against Sky’s chest, freeing herself to hug her dog, tears streaming from her eyes. “I can’t believe it,” she said, her voice thick with tears. “Tessa, such a good girl! Now, platz!” She patted the ground until the dog slowly folded downward. “No more moving, sweetie.”
The clearing filled with men in uniforms, SWAT gear, and blue jeans.
The tall, burly blond knelt beside them.
Jamie’s gaze widened. “Reaper! What the hell are you doing here?”
Reaper gave her a crooked grin. “Fetch thought you might need backup. Looks like he was right.”
She laughed and leaned toward him to give him a hug, which made the big guy blush.
Agent Haddock approached and waited as they all stood.
Sky kept his arm around Jamie, unwilling to let her go.
Her partner Reaper raised his eyebrows, but kept silent.
Jamie turned and stepped toward the knapsack, snagging the strap and lifting it. She faced Haddock and held out the bag. “I’m betting this is the C-4. Didn’t get a chance to peek inside.”
Haddock quickly unzipped the bag. Inside were brown cardboard boxes with lettering proclaiming the contents as “Block Demolition...Compound C-4.” His gaze rose, and he cracked a rusty smile. “Good work.”
As he strode away, Sky gave her another hug. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Reaper chuckled and patted his shoulder. “Welcome to my life.”
Jamie aimed a deadly glare at her partner. “Be careful, or I’ll tell everyone how I saved your ass...”
Reaper raised both hands in surrender. “Better head back to Patterson’s place. Someone’s probably having conniptions right about now.”
The sound of a helicopter grew loud above them.
“Get the dog on the chopper!” Hank called out.
Sky glanced at Nazari’s companion who was being tended by a medic on the ground.
“Bird’s mine,” Hank said. “FBI’s got another coming. That bastard can wait.” His gaze went to Jamie. “Wife’s got the vet heading toward our place.”
“Thank you,” Jamie said, her voice hoarse.
Hank shook his head. “No. Thank you. Damn fine work.”
Sky leaned toward her ear. “Watch out. He might try to poach you.”
Reaper grunted. “Not after I just got her trained.”
After the helicopter set down in a pasture beside Hank’s house, Jamie hovered over the shoulder of the veterinarian who’d been called out to treat Tessa.
He glanced up, a smile on his face. “Bullet’s still in there, but it didn’t knick any arteries. I’ll take her back to my clinic for surgery, but she should be right as rain in a couple of weeks.”
Jamie hated that she couldn’t accompany Tessa, but after seeing her settled inside a large kennel in the back of the vet’s truck, she let Sky guide her, a hand against the small of her back, toward Hank’s ranch house.
Inside, his living room had been transformed. Two rows of banquet tables had been set up, and were filled with computers, monitors, and communications equipment.
Whirring sounded behind her, and she glanced back to find Brian approaching in his wheelchair, a wide grin stretching across his face.
She bent to give him a hug. “First, Reaper. Now, you. They really did call in the cavalry.”
He laughed. “I’ve been manning the comms.” His smile dimmed. “’Bout had a heart attack when the call came that you were missing.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m fine. I wasn’t alone,” she said, smiling at Reaper and Sky.
“Hank said there might be a job...” Brian said, grimacing.
“I offered first,” came another gruff voice.
She turned to find Fetch nearing their group.
“Man’s got skills. I’d like him to organize the office. Do the online shit I hate.”
Jamie sighed then leaned against Sky whose ready arm slid around her shoulders. In just two days, so much had changed.
Fetch cleared his throat, his gaze going from Jamie to Sky, and likely coming to the right conclusion concerning their relationship. “Feds want to take our statements. Sooner we get it done, the sooner we can head home.”
Three hours later, Sky switched off the engine of his SUV. He turned in his seat to gaze at Jamie.
She held still, taking in the sight of him. Bits of forest clung to his clothing. His arms and the knees of his jeans were grimy. While she cataloged those findings, she drank in the image of his imperfect features. The long scare bisecting his brow. His crooked nose. Lord, she wanted him. “I’m ready to press PLAY,” she whispered.
His eyes narrowed for a moment as he got her drift, then his smile stretched. “I still want you here, but I’m a patient guy. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
“There’s still the problem of the commute...”
He shook his head. “Fetch says he’s willing to open a satellite office in Eagle Rock. You and Reaper will be in charge.”
She shook her head. “And when did you three have time to make all these plans?”
“You were with Haddock for a long damn time.”
“Sounds like you have this all figured out,” she said, reaching out a hand to touch his chest. Her fingers balled around the soft fabric, and she tugged him toward her. “Now, all we have to do is figure out whether all my stuff’s gonna fit inside your rustic little cabin...”
Sky flashed a smile and bent toward her, his mouth crushing her lips before he pulled away. “I’ll clear trees in the back and put up a fence.”
“Tessa would love that,” she said, smiling. Then she bit her lower lip, and her gaze fell away. “I think I love you already. That scare you?” A blush heated her skin, because she felt like it was too soon. Too much. That they hadn’t had a chance to be a couple.
Sky lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her meet his gaze. His eyes were a cloudy blue. “We’ve been doing this dance for two years, baby. We’ve spent too much time apart already. I’ll hire a moving van...tomorrow.”
“You’re such a SEAL,” she chided. “Always taking charge.”
“Bette
r get used it,” he growled.
With her body humming with arousal, Jamie gauged the porch was too far. “Better move that seat back.”
His hand disappeared. His seat buzzed as it glided back. She climbed over the console, ready to slide onto his lap, but he turned her as she came. Her back against his chest, he made quick work of opening her jeans and shoving them downward. She gripped the wheel to lift her body as he opened his pants.
Although clumsy, they managed to fit their bodies together.
She found she rather liked this position—his hands under her shirt and squeezing her breasts, his hips grinding upward to thrust inside her.
Yes, she could get used to this.
If you loved this story and want to see more Uncharted SEALs, let me know! And if you loved getting a glimpse of Montana Bounty Hunters, and think the agency needs it own spin-off series, let me know that, too!
About Delilah Devlin
Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of erotica and sexy romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. She has published over a hundred seventy erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths, and she is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Kindle Worlds, Montlake Romance, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.
You can find Delilah all over the web:
DelilahDevlin.com
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Uncharted SEALs titles
If you love a suspense with sexy heroes, check out more of Delilah’s UNCHARTED SEALS series:
Watch Over Me
Her Next Breath
Through Her Eyes
Dream of Me
Baby, It’s You
Before We Kiss
Between a SEAL and a Hard Place
Heart of a SEAL
Hard SEAL to Love
Brotherhood Protectors: Big Sky SEAL (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Uncharted SEALs Book 10) Page 6
